The Fate of the Furious keeps it in the family, but can it beat its siblings?

The Fate of the Furious arrives after the record-breaking Furious 7, but can a returning cast and crew (Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham) and a new director (F Gary Gray) help it perform better?

With over 4,000 US theatres preparing to show The Fate of the Furious from April 14 -- and a massive international opening the same week -- this eighth entry to the blockbuster action franchise looks to keep a firm hand on the wheel despite the unexpected loss of a lead actor.

It’s hard to say how much of a boost 2015’s Furious 7 got given the passing of one of its lead actors, Paul Walker, in an automobile-related accident.

Using digital composites and Walker’s willing brothers as doubles, the finished film roared to a $1.5 billion global box office, making it the sixth highest-grossing movie of all time.

One brand new face to the franchise is director F Gary Gray, Universal Pictures bringing him in after James Wan in Furious 7.

F Gary Gray director of, The Fate of the Furious poses at a junket to promote the film.
(Ron Eshel/Invision/AP)

Even so, Gray already has a number of connections to the franchise.

He’s known for another Vin Diesel action film, A Man Apart, the Italian Job remake, which co-starred Statham as well as new F8 baddie Charlize Theron, and helmed Be Cool, which had Dwayne Johnson among its ensemble.

Not only that but he was roundly praised for steering Straight Outta Compton (2015), another Universal picture, while behind the scenes he worked with Bryan Tyler on Law Abiding Citizen (2009).

Releasing April 14 in North America and April 12 in India, March tracking for The Fate of the Furious predicted a $120m debut weekend on home turf; for comparison, openings of over $147m domestically and $397m worldwide would be needed to better its immediate predecessor.